We'll remember Irene

If my hand-forged + chainmaille windchime had been out on the deck today, it would be blown to pieces by Hurricane Irene. Although, as I write this, the sustained winds are only clocking in at around 20 mph, some gusts ARE being measured at 50 mph. Fortunately, for the Raleigh area anyway, Irene dealt only a glancing blow to the North Carolina coast. On the coast itself, however, some fishing piers, including the one at Emerald Isle, fell (ouch!) victim to the storm and are now in wrecked heaps in the shallows and on the beach. Here in Cary we're getting off pretty lightly, though I imagine that the out-of-town vendors who were already on the road yesterday when the LazyDaze show was cancelled (for first time in 35 years) don't think so! No way to reschedule, off course. Bummer!